UT Southwestern receives $1.78 million grant for obesity research as part of NIH Roadmap initiative
... professor of internal medicine in the division of digestive and liver diseases and principal investigator on the grant. "Hopefully, our efforts will provide bigger steps toward understanding the metabolic processes that lead to obesity and some of the metabolic syndromes commonly associated with obesity, such...Master of antimalarial resistance
...the hemoglobin inside a membrane pocket called the digestive vacuole, it creates a toxic byproduct called free ...tein produced by the pfcrt gene is located in this digestive vacuole and may act as its gatekeeper. In chloroquine-resistant malaria, mutations in pfcrt may enco...Termites could hold the key to self-sufficient buildings
...out source some biological functions, for example, digestive functions to a fungus that they farm inside the mound. They supply the fungus with chewed wood fibre which the fungus breaks down into nutritious food. The structure of the mound ensures a constant and optimum environment for the fungus to thrive. T...Protein is key for digestive function of the pancreas
...ified a protein that is necessary for secretion of digestive enzymes by the pancreas. The research, published ...t regulate blood sugar, the pancreas also produces digestive enzymes that are secreted into the gastrointestinal tract and break down carbohydrates, proteins, an...Missing genes may help explain why plague bacteria are so deadly
...omely lethal, while a close relative only produces digestive disorders and is rarely fatal? The answer may be in its genes or rather, its lack of them. By comparing the genome of the plague bacillus, Yersinia pestis, with the almost-identical DNA sequence of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, an international tea...Images reveal how rotavirus - leading cause of diarrhea - enters cells
...r. First, when rotavirus arrives in the intestine, digestive enzymes cause two of the three VP4 molecules in each cluster to form a rigid spike, priming the virus to attack the cell and positioning the spike "head" to bind to the surface of the target cell. Then, in a second rearrangement, the spikes fold back...Protective gene may enhance vaccine responses
...mory T cells. It suppressed cathepsin B, a potent digestive enzyme that can induce cell death. T cell populations in which Spi2A levels were reduced produced fewer memory cells. As a consequence, mice with low Spi2A levels produced a severely diminished response to the virus when exposed to it a second time...Jefferson Lab detector technology aids development of cystic fibrosis therapy
...of individual cells in the lungs, liver, pancreas, digestive tract, reproductive tract and skin. The most commo...ausing recurring lung infections; it also prevents digestive enzymes from reaching the intestines to break down and absorb nutrients from food. Current treatment...APS announces the winners of its 2004 postdoctoral fellowship in physiological genomics
...ganogenesis). Though the liver is one of the major digestive organs vital to human physiology, the mechanism underlying liver organogenesis is largely unknown. He is now using a forward genetic approach in zebrafish to identify new factors that are key to liver organogenesis. This study will shed new light o...Joslin Diabetes Center launches research section on developmental and stem cell biology
...t in the early embryo initiates development of the digestive system, which includes the pancreas. This control mechanism later orchestrates one of the body's most important defenses against oxidative stress. Oxidative stress, or an excess of free radicals within the cell, is the major underlying cause of dia...Scientists discover new intricacies in how ulcer bugs stick to stomach
...any tricks to do so. To avoid being flushed out by digestive processes, the bacteria stick to cells lining the stomach wall, from which they also steal nutrients. BabA, one of several "adhesins" that help H. pylori stick to the stomach wall, binds to a carbohydrate structure known as the Lewis b antigen ...'Trap' crop saves Texas cross timbers melon production
...aneously developed severely clogged arteries and a digestive blockage. Worse, the disease would often not become evident until the melons were nearly mature. A week or so before harvest, the grower would look out upon his fields and see a healthy, profitable crop. Practically overnight, vines would begin to t...Finding the hole in the defenses of cavity-creating microbes
...m a similar trick as they travel through the human digestive system. Another harmful bacterium, Listeria, changes its membrane properties to allow it to live even in the cool temperatures of the refrigerator. Matching the bacteria's abilities, however, are various human strategies to kill the microbes. Many c...New technique images gene expression in mice
...uses abnormal mucus to accumulate in the lungs and digestive system. Affecting approximately 30,000 Americans, cystic fibrosis afflicts mostly children and, at one time, took its victims in their teens. Researchers have come a long way in treating the symptoms of disease, and this has allowed victims to live l...Research gives hope to preemies and Crohn's patients
...ke food orally because they get diarrhea and other digestive issues come into play." Tappenden became interested in modifying IV solution so that it would cause the intestine to grow the way that taking oral nutrition does. She began by adding short-chain fatty acids, acids that are reduced when dietary fiber...Friendly bacteria block HIV infection
...ia to stick to the mucosal lining of the mouth and digestive tract, forming colonization. Further screening ide...e 'friendly' bacteria already inhabiting the human digestive tract and milk products, and so should pose no danger to infants."...UNC study finds protein in male reproductive tract kills bacteria, may improve fertility
...are produced in the skin, eyes, nose, ears, mouth, digestive system, lungs and reproductive tract. "When a pathogen tries to enter our bodies, defensins are ready and waiting there to kill them," Hall said. "And if the defensins are overpowered, then other protective mechanisms including antibodies are called ...More useful plants may sprout from gene role discovery
...n livestock feed are more easily absorbed into the digestive tract. One clue that led Chapple's team to its finding came when the scientists looked at leaves from normal and mutant Arabidopsis thaliana plants under ultraviolet lights. The normal Arabidopsis leaves appear blue-green under UV light. Mutants, whi...Why sloths do not sleep upside down
...loths but they do not ruminate. As studies on the digestive physiology of these species are largely missing, i...h indicates that the interplay of resting posture, digestive anatomy and ingesta characteristics could, indeed, affect a faster expulsion of large particles from...Study reveals important new factor in cystic fibrosis lung inflammation
... secretions also obstruct the pancreas, preventing digestive enzymes from reaching the intestines to help break down and absorb food. People with CF have a variety of symptoms including: very salty-tasting skin; persistent coughing, at times with phlegm; wheezing or shortness of breath; an excessive appetite b...